It begins tomorrow…

Cold enough for ya? If you’re a skier or rider, it ought to be — snowmaking has begun in earnest across the Northeast.

Vermont’s Killington will be the first ski resort to open — on Wednesday, a day earlier than planned. The mountain, which reports five inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, now has 200 snow guns (and lots of cold workers) blowing nonstop. The mountain plans to open with two lifts and up to eight trails (we’re glad they’ve gotten away from their lame October openings, where they’d open the top half of one trail for a few hours for the free publicity). Tomorrow, the mountain will have “top to bottom skiing,” but at $65 for adults, frugal riders might want to wait for more snow…

Meanwhile, Mount Snow is planning to open Saturday. Stratton is planning to open on Wednesday, Nov. 26; Bromley on Nov. 28. And grand ol’ Stowe is set to open in 3 days, 11 hours, 58 minutes and 27 seconds, as of this writing, according to the countdown clock on their Web site.

In the Adirondacks, Whiteface started its snowmaking last Saturday. You can download a “widget” for regular snow updates here. Both Whiteface and Gore are planning (or hoping, in the words of a Whiteface staffer) to open Nov. 28.

In the Berkshires, Jiminy Peak just started blowing snow today. They plan to open Saturday with up to

nine trails.

In the Catskills, Windham and Hunter are planning to open Saturday. Belleayre is set to open a week later.

Early season’s a great time to get out, ski without the crowds and take advantage of mondo discounts (be sure to attend the Warren Miller movie on Thursday or Friday night for free tickets to Stratton, Jiminy, Windham and Smugglers Notch).

So if you haven’t gotten your skis or boards dusted off and tuned up, now’s the time. WInter has started!